Whether a long missive to a long-lost friend or your bank card details, losing a lot of data you’ve just painstakingly typed is not fun. Fortunately, there are tools that can help provide a safety net, including the impressive Type Machine.

You are going to have to shell out a few bucks for the app, and it might not work with some Samsung handsets—there is a support page for Samsung users that you should check in advance—but those caveats aside, it can prove to be a lifesaver the next time an app crashes or you need to retrace your steps.

As soon as you start the app you’ll be prompted to enable it in the Android accessibility options: This essentially gives it permission to watch what you’re doing. Data is deleted after a day by default though you can change this by tapping on Settings. The same settings screen lets you set particular apps to ignore and configure a PIN code to protect the app.

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After that you simply carry on using your Android device as normal. When you need to bring back something you’ve typed, simply open up Type Machine, where you can browse entries by app and again access the configuration settings. Text can be copied or deleted as required.

You might hesitate at the thought of installing an app that reads everything you write, but the only permission Type Machine asks for is to launch at startup. Secure password fields are not monitored, data is regularly cleared out and as mentioned above you have the option to exclude particular apps as well as set a PIN code protecting the app.